


What happens now?

by Evie_12



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Adopted Eggsy, Baby Eggsy, Bad Michelle Unwin, Dad Harry, Eggsy is their precious baby boy now, Harry Hart | Galahad & Merlin & Gary "Eggsy" Unwin - Freeform, Kinda, M/M, Married Harry Hart | Galahad/Merlin (Kingsman), No Daisy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poor Lee, Rating May Change, Son Eggsy, TW: Mention of Child Abuse, dad merlin, merlahad, nothing graphic but is spoken about in chapter 5, platonic of course for that one, slight au as they're all younger than the films
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:14:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27291046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evie_12/pseuds/Evie_12
Summary: Harry finds baby Eggsy all alone in the flat when he goes to give Michelle the medal. Now what?
Relationships: Harry Hart | Galahad/Merlin
Comments: 64
Kudos: 106





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So clearly everyone is younger in this than they are in the timeline of the films so to be honest just ignore that timeline. For reference I've really de-aged them so Harry is 28, Merlin is 27, Lee is 21, Michelle is 20 and Eggsy is 6 months old (born in 1990). Harry and Merlin both joined Kingsman at 22 (H) and 21 (M) and they get together at 24 & 23\. The year is going to be set in 1991 as obviously I needed homosexuality to be legalised but they don't get married until 2013 when marriage was legalised and Eggsy will then be around 23.
> 
> Kingsman still have all their tech in 1991 because they're just that good.

“Are you sure we can do this Merlin?”

Merlin looked up at him, dejection clear on his face and in the hazel eyes staring back at him. “No, but we can’t not do anything. It’s like ye said, it’s our fault this happened”

“My fault. I said it was my fault not yours as well as mine, I missed the grenade; not you.” Harry sighed and looked down at the 6-month-old baby in his arms blinking sleepily up at him whilst gripping his tie for dear life in one little fist. Lee’s wife had given birth to their son just under 2 months before Harry recruited him from the marines to train as a Kingsman agent. As much as the young man had wanted to stay at home with his wife and new-born child he couldn’t afford not to be working as well as Michelle not working. When Harry approached him with the offer of Kingsman, which meant a lot more money as well, he said yes straight away.

But that was 4 months ago. 4 months ago when Lee was alive and showing off the photos of his baby boy who for some reason was nicknamed ‘Eggsy’ of all things to everyone that wanted to see, the baby he wanted to give a happy life to by getting a job that would make their financial struggles disappear. And now, 3 days since the death of that young man due to a mistake made by his very own mentor, his son had neither parent’s there to look after him. 

That morning when Harry had gone to take the medal of valour along with the devastating news of the death of her husband to Michelle Unwin, she was nowhere to be seen. He could hear the cries of a baby coming from within the flat and when he applied more force to his knocking, the door creaked opened. He kept his hand near his gun as he walked through the flat, calling for Michelle. There was no sign of the women anywhere and the flat itself was an absolute mess. He felt himself getting more worried the more time he spent in the flat and followed the sound of the pitiful wails that were sounding more and more wrecked as time went on. A frown took over his face when he took sight of the baby laying in the cot in the middle of the room, red faced with a constant flow of tears spilling over their cheeks. Eggsy, if he remembered correctly, looked over at the sound of the door opening and stopped his wailing even as the tears didn’t stop coming from his glistening eyes. As soon as the child realised he didn’t recognise who it was that had opened the door he started whimpering and stuck his fingers in his mouth like he was trying not to cry so harshly again. 

Harry had felt his heart break a bit at the sight. He made shushing noises as he walked over to stand next to the cot and reached down stroke the backs of his knuckles over one of the damp cheeks. “Where on earth is your mother little one? Why are you all alone hmm?” He said as the baby calmed down enough to stop the tears. Just as he was about to look around the room, a piece of paper stuck the headboard of the cot caught his eye, taking it off and reading the note Harry had to close his eyes and curse out loud.

“Merlin?” He said once he’d composed himself and tapped on his glasses to connect to the handler.

“Aye? Is that Lee’s son? Has he been crying?” The other man asked as he picked up the alert.

“Michelle seems to have decided the role of a mother was not something she wanted anymore. She left two days ago hoping Eggsy’s crying would alert the neighbours as is said in this note, clearly he hasn’t been able to scream loud enough to get anyone’s attention through two closed doors if the sound of his voice and the look of him is anything to go by. I could hear him through the front door but I suppose no one took any notice”

“Bloody hell” Merlin groaned softly in his ear, “was she even going to tell Lee do ye think?”

Harry shrugged then replied as Merlin probably didn’t catch the motion, “by what she’s written I don’t believe so”. Their moment of silence was broken by a scratchy cry coming from Eggsy’s no doubt very sore throat, “christ I need to feed the baby Merlin. Can he have water at sixth months? He needs to be bathed and changed too”

“Only small amounts of cooled boiled tap water at that age but he needs milk more than anything. See if there’s any formula in the house and let’s hope he isn’t breast fed”

“Should I clean him or feed him first?”

“Clean him I’d say, ye can look for formula whilst the bath is running”

Harry nodded and left Eggsy momentarily to find the bathroom and get it running once he found it. He made sure the water was at a suitable temperature before he left it running to search the ransacked kitchen of any formula. “What the fuck happened in there...” Merlin spoke as he looked around, “I guess Michelle hadn’t been looking after the two of them properly for a while before she left. Okay I’ve found some formula, the only one in date too. The one that’s opened went out of date a few weeks ago which can’t be good for the boy if that’s what she’s been feeding him”

“I thought Lee had been sending money to her, why would she be needing to use out of date food for her child?”

Harry opened a high cupboard in his search for a bottle and found the reason why, “ah. This may be why”. The cupboard was full of alcohol bottles, the one next to it the same and when he looked at the bin that was surrounded by empty ones alongside empty cigarette cartons. Ignoring the mess, he found a bottle and gave it a rinse before setting it on the side to dry and checking on the bath water then turning off the taps.

Eggsy was back to crying in full force by the time Harry made it back to his bedroom and decided it would probably be easier to strip him of his soiled clothes once he’d got him into the bathroom. He took off his suit jacket and then his shirt and tie as well as his shoulder holster as he didn’t want to ruin them before leaning down to wrap the blanket the boy was laying on around his little body and gathered him into his arms.

“There now, we’re going to get you all cleaned up” He smiled down at the boy who looked up at him with big sad eyes and a wobbling bottom lip. “We definitely need to get you out of that nappy” Harry grimaced as he sped up his pace, “good lord that formula certainly did you no favours my boy”. Merlin was chuckling away in his ear but he chose to ignore him.

“Right, shall we get you undressed then dear” Harry tapped the baby on the nose and got a watery little giggle in return for his troubles. He gently set him on the changing table in the bathroom and whilst unzipping the black and white polka dot onesie he couldn’t help but notice how malnourished the boy seemed. When he looked back at his face he could see how his cheeks lacked the typical healthy pudge most babies had and a wave of sadness hit him as he thought about how upset Lee would’ve been to see his precious baby in such a state.

“He looks very small for his age Harry; he looks more like 3 months not 6 the poor lad” Merlin said once he’d got the onesie off completely off and opted to just throw it in the bin instead of trying to salvage it. Harry hummed his agreement before stripping off the soiled nappy, wrapping it up and throwing it in the bin too. “I think I’ll wipe you down before your bath”

Once he’d wiped him down, Harry picked him up and lowered him into the bath, keeping an arm around his back to keep the baby sat up as the bath was quite large compared to him. “She doesn’t even have a proper baby bath Merlin. I’m rubbish with children but even I know he needs one of those” Harry huffed but soon smiled as Eggsy started to splash his hands in the warm water.

Soon enough Eggsy was squeaky clean and bundled up in a fluffy towel in Harry’s arms. “You say ye are no good with children but Eggsy seems to happy enough with ye Galahad” Merlin mentioned as Harry was feeding the baby with the milk he had prepared and tested the temperature of on his wrist. “He’s a baby Hamish. I’m sure the sight of food after two days of not eating would make him happy with anybody” Harry mumbled and chuckled under his breath at the quickly drooping eyes and content little noises coming from the bundle he was swaying back and forth. Eggsy may have been hungry but it didn’t take long for the combination of a warm bath and warm milk finally filling his little tummy to send him off to sleep.

“What the hell happens now, Hamish” Harry just about whispered after removing the nub of the bottle from the baby’s slack mouth.

“You get both of you dressed again, bring him here and we’ll go from there”

And that’s how they got to where they were now, Harry rocking the barely awake infant and having a conversation with his partner about the fate of his future considering he was basically now an orphan. Until Merlin suggested that they kept him and raised him themselves.

“I hadn’t realised you wanted a child Merlin”

“Neither had I till I saw you holding a baby like it came naturally to you” Merlin smiled at the roll of Harry’s eyes that didn’t disguise the blush colouring his cheeks, “would you like to hold him?” Harry asked instead of arguing with him. Merlin hesitated briefly but then nodded and held out his arms so Harry could pass him over.

“He’s a cute little thing” Merlin grinned at the now wide-open eyes staring up at him, the green and blue hues reminding him of Lee. The baby smiled a toothless smile and made happy gurgling noises up at him, “quite happy too considering how he was neglected for so long. I imagine he’s going to start teething soon though, that’ll be fun”

“I’m sure it will” Despite what had happened over the last few days, Harry couldn’t help but feel some genuine happiness as he watched the two people in front of him get to know each other.


	2. A month later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole month with baby Eggsy has passed and we see how things are going :)

Looking after a baby was actually one of the less stressful things they’d done in their time at Kingsman, especially one as calm natured as Eggsy. He seemed to be happy all the time, he rarely cried and as long as he was receiving lots of kisses and cuddles he was quite content to babble away to himself on his play mat or in his cot. They’d assumed the boy hadn’t gotten much attention from his mother when he had been living with her and was the reason he now seemed to be squealing in joy when someone paid attention to him for even the slightest amount of time. Even Arthur got toothless grins and claps of his little hands when the man saw him in Merlin’s office, the old bastard hadn’t explicitly said he was against the two of them adopting the child but his sneers and clipped words at the three of them said enough of what he thought about it. With the exception of Chester King, everyone seemed to had fallen in love with Eggsy. It wasn’t that big of a surprise considering the boy seemed to capture the hearts of everyone within the first ten seconds of them meeting him, his sweet face and hunger for love and affection really sealed the deal.

The first one month of having Eggsy with them went fairly smoothly overall, but Merlin had managed to track down Michelle, or what had happened to her at least. CCTV footage had shown her getting into a car with who they now know to be a wanted felon by the name of Dean Baker. Wanted mainly for drug related crimes at first but was now wanted for the manslaughter of Michelle Unwin who was beaten so badly by the man that she died in hospital.

Eggsy would never know his biological parents personally. All they had to offer the boy when he was at an age to understand was a few videos from Lee’s training, various photo albums of he, Michelle and Lee from when he was born and the few items of sentimental value they had taken from the flat. Merlin had managed to pass Harry as Eggsy’s uncle from Lee’s side of the family and deemed as the child’s legal guardian, as a gay couple in 1991 he and Merlin could not legally adopt him as their child but unofficially he was theirs. Gary “Eggsy” Unwin was now Gary “Eggsy” Hart and when the law would finally accept it, they hoped to marry and change all three of their last names to Mycroft-Hart. 

It was currently Saturday April 6th, 1991, exactly 7 months after Eggsy was born, 1 month after he had been taken into his new family and the exact day that Harry was close to crying alongside the boy who was having the pleasure of welcoming his first tooth. 

“Hamish I don’t know what else to do to help him, I’ve tried everything. The teething toys aren’t helping, the ice just seems to scare him with how cold it is and right now honestly I’m contemplating just rubbing brandy on his gums to numb them” 

Merlin had never seen his partner look so frazzled in all the time he’d known him. He’d just come in from doing their weekly shop and had come home to see Harry pacing up and down the kitchen with Eggsy in his arms sobbing his heart out around chewing on his own fingers. Mr. Pickle had his head buried under his blankets in his bed.

“Have ye read the baby books?” He asked and took the boy from Harry’s arms to bounce him on his hip the way that always got him loud giggles in return, no such luck this time.

“Of course I read the bloody books! That’s where I read about the fucking brandy in the first place!”  
Not something he would have thought would’ve been in baby book but hey ho. Merlin glared at him and covered one of Eggsy’s ears, “hey. No swearing in front of the baby Harry I’ve told ye this before” 

Harry rolled his eyes and plucked the handkerchief out of Merlin’s coat pocket, “is this clean?” He asked, waving it around and wincing as Eggsy seemed to go up in pitch with his screams.

“Christ he’s got a set of lungs on him” Merlin grumbled whilst stroking Eggsy’s back, “aye, it’s clean. Use the good brandy I don’t want to scare him and not too much if you’re really doing it”

Harry went to the dining room and dripped some of the brandy on to the hanky before coming back to the kitchen and gently pried Eggsy’s hand from his mouth which only seemed to make him cry more.

“Hush now dear we only want to help you; I know it hurts but I’m afraid you need those teeth. They do come in handy and I’m sure you’ll be looking forward to trying some real food once they’re here”. They’d taken Eggsy to medical once they’d decided they were going to keep him; the doctor had been slightly taken aback by how underweight the boy was and they vowed to make sure he never went hungry again.

Harry rubbed the damp cotton as softly as he could over his gums, focusing mainly on where he could feel the tooth coming in. It took a few minutes but eventually the loud cries turned into soft whimpers. “Well I’ll be damned. It seems to be helping him” Merlin commented as Eggsy cuddled into his neck.

Harry sighed in relief and leant against the kitchen counter, “he’s been screaming ever since you left. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong until I noticed he kept gnawing at his fingers. Were the shops busy?” Merlin shook his head and sat at the small breakfast table they kept in the corner of their kitchen, “quite quiet for a Saturday actually, I got ye the biscuits ye wanted. And more veggies than usual, I want to see if Eggsy will try some mashed up so we can start weening him” 

Harry nodded and started to unpack the bags of shopping that were dumped on the side.  
“Ye should keep yer hair like that more often, I like it all loose and curly” Harry didn’t turn around but he gave his partner the middle finger and smiled to himself when he heard him laugh.

Later that evening when they were lying in bed, Eggsy flat on his back with his arms flung above his head in between them, Harry voiced a thought he’d been having for a few days, “when he begins to speak, who do you think he’ll sound like?” Merlin looked up from where he was reading to give a confused stare to the man staring down at their baby with a soft smile, “what do ye mean?”

Harry looked up from where he was fluffing up the soft golden hair on Eggsy’s head, “well Lee and Michelle were as Arthur so kindly puts it ‘chavs’ so do you reckon he’ll take after them? Or will he sound like me? Or you? Or both? His accent will be all over the place if so”

“Harry he’ll never know what his parents sounded like, he’s far too young to remember any details like that. And I suppose it’ll depend on where he goes to school and how we speak to him but he’ll decide for himself I’m sure” Merlin couldn’t help the smirk that took over his face at the strange question.

“Merlin I didn’t suffer through elocution lessons just to teach my new son how to speak solely based around cockney rhyming slang”. Harry looked so put out that Merlin laughed loud enough to startle Eggsy awake who soon started to tear up after being jolted out of his sleep, “oh now look what you’ve done” Harry chastised him and started to make soothing noises at the upset baby between them.

“Sorry my love, you should have seen yer face it was priceless” Merlin kissed Harry’s forehead and gave Eggsy a kiss on the cheek before running is finger over his forehead and down the centre of his nose to relax him back into sleeping, a trick his mother used to do with him and his siblings to get them to sleep as babies.

Oh shit. Their parents.

“Harry when are we going to let our families know we have a baby all of a sudden”

Harry whipped his head up, nearly knocking Merlin out as he didn’t realise how close their heads were whilst they were watching Eggsy drift back to sleep, “I hadn’t thought of that actually”. Both of their families were incredibly supportive of their relationship which was a bit of a surprise to them both but a brilliant surprise none the less. Them having a baby may shock them however, considering it’s not even legal for them to adopt one yet, how they were going to pull this one off they did not know. But there was only one way to find out.

“Ye put him to bed and I’ll call my mam, ye have some time off next week and so do I so we can go up to Scotland then if ye’d like. Want to go to yours tomorrow?” Merlin asked and moved off the bed slowly so to not disturb Eggsy whom Harry was trying to pick up without waking him again.

“That should be fine, tell your mother hello from me will you?”

“Aye” 

\---------

The next day consisted of Harry’s mum near enough crying whilst she smothered Eggsy’s face in kisses, Eggsy was loving every second and now that his tooth wasn’t causing him so much discomfort was crying out in loud happy shrieks as he was fussed upon.

“Boys, how in the hell did you get a baby?” Harry’s dad was a bit more stunned than his wife, happy, but clearly confused as shit.

“Henry does it really matter. You have a grandson! Be happy dear”

“I am happy Pamela! I’d just like to know if they stole him or not”

Merlin laughed and Harry rolled his eyes, “no, father, we did not steal him for fucks sake”

“Language!” Pamela and Merlin hissed at the same time. Harry apologised half-heartedly then carried on, “for the last Lancelot trials the mission we were on for their final test went wrong. I missed something and unfortunately his father sacrificed himself to save myself, Hamish and the other recruit who is now the new Lancelot. When I went to deliver the medal to his wife the flat was empty aside from Eggsy, the mother had abandoned him with a note and clearly hadn’t been looking after him properly for quite some time so I cared for him and brought him into to HQ. Hamish found out his mother had been killed a few weeks ago and had me put down as his legal guardian and well here we are”

His mother had been Merlin before his Merlin so she knew all about Kingsman and his father had been one of the techs in the department. They had both retired some years ago and were now living in Surrey with their two dogs, both of whom Mr. Pickle did not get along with, in a house big enough to fit 10 people. Harry had called them absurd when they bought it but they ignored him and said they could do what they wanted as it was their hard-earned money and really who was he to argue that. That and they basically just told him to fuck off with his complaining when it was he that would inherit the damn place one day.

“Oh the poor little darling, his father was a brave man then I take it. You mustn’t feel too guilty though my dear, we all make mistakes when out in conditions such as those. You two are doing the right thing by taking him in” Pamela smiled and passed Eggsy to Henry to give both of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek and let them into the house properly. 

“What’s his name?” Henry asked once they’d sat down in the drawing room with tea, he was bouncing Eggsy on his knee who was loving every second, “his name is Eggsy” Merlin answered.

Both of Harry’s parents looked over at the two of them sat together with puzzled expressions.

“I beg your pardon. You named him after a food item?” Pamela eventually asked

That got a laugh out of both of them, “no mother, his actual name is Gary which was chosen by Michelle after her late father but he was nicknamed Eggsy by Lee after he broke an entire box of a dozen eggs by kicking it out of his hand. I’m not overly sure how the name Eggsy came out of that but that’s the story Lee told everyone. We’ve decided to continue calling him that in honour of him”

“Quite suits him really. Hello, Eggsy, welcome to the family my boy” Henry laughed after Eggsy squealed at the attention being focused back on him. 

\---------

Somehow, by the time they’d reached Scotland, Merlin’s family had already caught wind of the new arrival in the family and had set up a surprise party in honour of welcoming Eggsy. There was no doubt that Pamela had called Merlin’s mother to tell her the news, and how they got him considering the only way Merlin would join Kingsman would be if his family could know about it, and in a way it was a bit of a relief that when they got there they didn’t have to explain why they now had a baby.

They barely saw Eggsy for the rest of the night as the whole of Merlin’s family, including the cousins, aunts and uncles, had come to see Eggsy and the boy was being passed around for cuddles like it was a game of pass the parcel. Eggsy of course had no complaints and you heard him more than you saw him but soon enough he began to fall asleep from all the excitement tiring him out and Harry took him up for a bath with both of Merlin’s sisters in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I'm not overly sure you're supposed to rub alcohol on teething babies but it's fiction so we'll roll with it. And you know you can't google things in 1991, Kingsman can't even do that one yet.


	3. Eggsy turns 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short look into how Eggsy progresses and then turns 1.

A few months had passed and Harry could honestly say deciding to keep Eggsy was one of the best decisions they’d ever made. He and Merlin seemed to of grown closer to each other over the short time Eggsy had been in their lives, the constant feeling of happiness the baby seemed to emit was what made a hard day at work or out in the field seem all the more worth it when they got to spend their evenings with their little bundle of joy. Even though they spent more time bed nowadays due to their sleeping schedule being thrown off from night-time feeding and early bedtimes, they hadn’t actually slept with just the two of them for quite some time. Eggsy had managed to use his big pleading eyes to convince Harry to have him in bed with them more often than not. Merlin still insisted he needed to sleep in his own bed as he didn’t want a habit to form and then end up with a child that never slept in their own bed, that and he was terrified one of them would roll over and squish him in their sleep, Harry just couldn’t say no to the puppy eyes. The child was too clever for his own good Merlin would grumble often, at barely over 10 months Eggsy had them wrapped around his little fingers and would no doubt be spoiled rotten by Harry when he was old enough to talk properly.

At 11 months on the dot Eggsy said his first word, Harry having had him sitting on his lap in Merlin’s office whilst Merlin was guiding Lancelot through a mission, was quietly reading a simple story book to him. Merlin could see in the reflection of one of the turned off monitors that Eggsy was just barely keeping his eyes open and was using his curled-up fist to rub one of his eyes. Just as he went to look away he saw Harry freeze and stop reading, he was going to ask him what the matter was when Harry looked down at the sleepy child in his lap and opened his mouth.

“Did you just say something Eggsy?” Harry asked with mild shock on his face, the underlying glee starting to come through.

“…Da-da” Eggsy mumbled before yawning and curling into Harry’s chest.

Harry gasped at the same time Merlin said, “oh my word”. Harry looked up at him and with a massive grin on his face, “you heard that too?!” He just about shouted, jolting Eggsy awake and making him whimper a bit.

“Aye” Merlin chuckled at the pair, “when did you teach him that then?”

Harry shook his head, “I haven’t been, not really. I’ve referred to you as dada before when I’ve been talking to him, I suppose he’s become familiar with it”. Harry put the book aside and held Eggsy out at arm’s length in front of him, the boy looking most unimpressed that he was not being allowed to nap, “can you say it again dear? Say dada?”

For a second it looked like Eggsy was about to cry as his green eyes flicked over Harry’s face and glazed over a bit. Instead, he kicked his legs and chanted ‘da’ over and over again with a facial expression of what could only be described as ‘I’m tired and want to sleep but you won’t let me so now I’m pissed off’.

Both men started to laugh at the scene Eggsy was making, Merlin being extremely grateful he had turned his glasses on to record when he had spun around in his chair earlier after Eggsy had spoken the first time. The laughing seemed to of been the last straw for Eggsy who did then start crying and was immediately fussed on by Harry who cuddled him to his chest whilst cooing at him. Merlin was still smiling to himself when he turned the recording off and spun back around just as Lancelot, who had just reached his rendezvous point, started to speak, “Merlin? Is that Eggsy crying?” he asked with confusion evident in his voice, understandable considering Eggsy rarely ever cried. The only time he really only made a fuss was when he was overly tired or teething.

“Aye but he’s fine. He said his first word just as he was falling asleep and when Harry disturbed him to get him to do it again he got a bit upset at our laughing when he did it repeatedly whilst angrily kicking his legs about”

Lancelot let out a startled laugh and got into the Kingsman car that had arrived to bring him back to HQ, “I do hope you captured that on film”

“Of course I did, I’m going to keep it to embarrass him with on his 18th birthday”

“You are cruel Merlin, so very cruel”

“What kind of dad would I be if I didn’t have plenty of material to embarrass my son with in front of all his friends? I’ll see you when ye are back here for the debrief, good work agent.”

Lancelot thanked him before signing off. He set the monitors to sleep and spun back around in his chair to face his partner, “he asleep?”

“I believe so, he stopped crying when you were speaking with Lancelot. I do miss going on the long hauls sometimes you know” Harry said

“Aye, I know, it was what ye were used to but ye asked Arthur for the short and simple ones until Eggsy was at least 2 years old and could be looked after by a nanny when we’re not able to if memory serves”

Harry rolled his eyes and waved the arm not cradling Eggsy around in the air in a dramatic fashion like the drama queen he was, in Merlin’s humble opinion, “I know, I know. I don’t regret it, it’s nice spending most of the day with you two anyway, we get to spend more time together and Eggsy gets to see the both of us a lot before I start going away for missions again”. He hadn’t actually been on any missions for a few weeks now, Kingsman had very few at all during that month and most agents were doing more paperwork than anything. Not that either of them minded, it allowed them to see the little milestones of Eggsy’s first year of life after all.

When Eggsy turned 1 on September 6th that year, they went slightly overboard with the gathering they threw for him. Eggsy clearly had no clue what was going on, he was just happy that there were even more people than usual wanting to give him kisses and cuddles. The pile of presents on the kitchen table went completely ignored by him, even when Harry and Merlin sat him on the floor to get him to open them. He enjoyed ripping the paper off but wasn’t bothered by what the actual gift was underneath, Harry and Merlin made sure to thankthe person who had bought it for him every time even if the boy was more invested in throwing up bits of wrapping paper and clapping his hands when people laughed at him.

Most of the agents, excluding Bors and Kay (and Arthur, of course) who were on a mission, had come to their house to celebrate as well as both of their parents and Merlin’s two sisters and his younger brother had come down from Scotland. They had decorated the house with pale green and white with hand painted woodland creatures done by Merlin on all of the bunting hanging up. White and pale green balloons were scattered around the room which Harry had painted ‘Eggsy’s 1st birthday’ on in his fancy cursive writing Merlin could barely read half the time. He often pitied the man’s schoolteachers; he wouldn’t have wanted to have marked essay’s with that scrawl. They had a cake made for the occasion as well, normally Harry would bake cakes himself for their loved ones birthdays but as it was their boy’s first birthday, they’d both decided to get a cake done specially. It was quite simple in reality, two tiered and roughly iced with white icing around both cakes. Decorative greenery was added all around the base of the bottom cake whilst a few pieces were around the base of the second but not all the way around. A grey squirrel with an acorn was placed at the bottom cake, a few mushrooms dotted around then a hedgehog and fox placed on the top with a white number 1 in-between the two fondant creatures.

The day was certainly one to remember, Eggsy had loved every second of it and promptly passed out in Merlin’s arms once everyone had sung happy birthday to him. The boy had been transfixed with flickering candles but had lost interest once the flames had been blown out by his dads.

Once everyone had left after having some of the cake and the two men had thanked them all profusely, Merlin and Harry settled down in the living room with Eggsy. Harry had gathered every blanket in their house along with the pillows from the sofa and laid them on the floor, both of them laid down on the makeshift bed with a sleeping Eggsy between them.

“I know we haven’t had him all that long Harry, but I don’t know what I’d do without him in our lives” Merlin said softly whilst they both watched the boy sleep between them, the television playing quietly in the background. Merlin felt Harry’s hand cup his cheek and looked up to see him smiling at him with suspiciously shiny eyes, “I know dear, I feel the same. I love him with my whole heart, just as I do you”.

Merlin smiled back at him and Harry drew his hand away, “I love ye too, Harry. And you lad” he looked back down at Eggsy and gently kissed his forehead, “I love ye my boy” he whispered with his lips against his skin still. He moved back when little content sounds came from the now 1 year old and smiled again when he saw that his eyes had opened slightly.

“Hello there birthday boy” he said to him, getting a sleepy smile in return.

“da..da” Eggsy mumbled before drifting back to sleep making both the men huff amusedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope that photo of the cake works.
> 
> Edit : I fixed it I think??


	4. Some key events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few *eventful* birthday's for Eggsy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for mention of a bleeding facial wound near the beginning and near the end for mention of vomiting due to a prolonged amount of time underwater.
> 
> Some f-bombs also in here too.

Harry’s in the middle of a two month long undercover mission when Eggsy turns two, he spends the day pretending to be the newest interested investor in what’s basically a mind control concoction disguised as an energy drink of all things. Something about getting the youth, who would be most likely to buy it, to act as the criminal ‘master’ mind he was infiltrating’s unquestioning followers. It’s all just another day at the office for Kingsman. He spends his evening in front of the mirror in his temporary flat in Belgium video calling with Merlin and Eggsy through the glasses. He’d never been so thankful for the Kingsman tech department being so ahead of the outside world in terms of technology and video conferences as Merlin had somehow managed to get Harry up on the monitors and have Harry be able to see him and Eggsy in his office back in England. Merlin tells him about their day together spent out and about playing with the puppies at the kennels in HQ, going out for lunch whilst at the zoo and then eating enough sweet treats to make the boy have a sugar rush big enough for him to still be awake by half eight at night without the late afternoon nap he usually takes.

Eggsy, now that he’d been talking more and more every day, happily babbled away to Harry in the adorable baby talk he did that neither of them could really make any sense of but joined in with his conversation anyway. For the most part it was just words he knew the meaning of really well mixed with words he partially understood all mushed together with incoherent sounds and little toothy grins now all his baby teeth had grown in. The only thing he didn’t seem to quite understand is why he couldn’t reach out and touch Harry through the screen even though he could see him in front of him, one second he’s stood up on Merlin’s lap whilst the man held him around the waist and the next he’s leaning forward with all his weight to try and hug Harry through the screen. He ended up smacking his head on the sharp edge of Merlin’s shelf he kept above the monitors as Merlin hadn’t anticipated the boy leaning forwards so quickly so his grip wasn’t strong enough to stop him from falling.

Both men gasped and Eggsy was yanked back to sit back down in Merlin’s lap before the boy even registered that he’d split open his eyebrow on the shelf, it was only when Merlin turned Eggsy to face him and started asking if he was okay that tears started welling up and his bottom lip trembled before a few sobs came out.

“Oh ye silly wee one, you’ve made a right cracker on yer brow there laddie” Merlin ignored Harry’s worried rambling in the background and plucked his handkerchief from his pocket to dab at the blood slowly coming from the cut. It hadn’t looked overly deep but would’ve no doubt left a scar through his eyebrow but thankfully the boy hadn’t seemed to have given himself a concussion.

“Hamish for god’s sake will you please answer me! How bad is it? Do I need to come home? Is he—”

“Harry, shut up, he’s fine he’s got a little cut but it’s nothing to start panicking over” Merlin cut him off with a half-hearted glare after he’d finished with cleaning off the small wound and placed a plaster there. Eggsy had stopped crying after Merlin gave a gentle kiss to the bandaged cut and gathered him close to his chest for a cuddle.  
“He’s okay but I’ll take him to medical to have it looked over properly after we finish here, bit of a shock more than anything I’d say. He’s a brave boy don’t ye fret”

Harry huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, “I’ll fret all I want, our son just had his first minor injury. On his second birthday of all days and I can’t even give him the hug he wanted in the first place!”

Merlin rolled his eyes but smiled all the same, “if he’s anything like you I can imagine this won’t be his last. Ye can cuddle him all ye like when ye get home ye big softy”

“Dada home?” Eggsy asked when he heard Merlin mention the word and raised his head so suddenly he nearly clonked it on Merlin’s chin, the man only just moving his head in time to avoid the collision.

“Soon lad, I promise” Merlin said to the pouting boy.

“Dada home wiv’ Egg and dada soon?” Both of them were referred to as ‘dada’ for now, they’d tried to get him to call one of them daddy or papa but Eggsy was determined that dada was the only name he wanted to say. It wasn’t too much of an inconvenience, it just made knowing who he was yelling for at random times of the day and night slightly more confusing. 

“Yes my boy, soon” Harry spoke with a small smile.

\--------

On his third birthday Eggsy spent the day with Harry’s parents as both he and Merlin were too caught up in a very ‘delicate’ mission which involved getting into the underground tunnels of the Buckingham Palace grounds. Harry and Bors were 5 seconds off blowing the entire thing, and themselves, up before they’d managed to get the damn explosive diffused. They had asked Pam and Henry to have Eggsy stay with them for a week that turned into two and then a third when it looked like Merlin was also needed out in the field and for far longer than they had anticipated. Merlin despised field work but he did have to admit punching evil twats in the face was quite a thrill.

4 days after Eggsy turned three Merlin and Harry were pulling up to the Hart mansion, as Merlin liked to call it, and Harry was rattling on how Eggsy’s had gone and forgotten who they were, what they looked like, and how he’s not going to want to come home with them. Merlin was just about ready to use one the tranquiliser darts on him from his watch before the front door opened and a tiny figure was rushing out to crash into their legs with chants of dada being yelled out.

“Dada look what nana and grampy got me!” Eggsy held up the stuffed chicken toy, “grampy said eggs come from ‘tickins and I’m Egg!” He waved the toy around, practically vibrating with glee from where he was stood looking up at them.

“That ye are my lad and that’s a very cute chicken ye have there” Merlin said to Eggsy after he’d picked him up and rested him on his hip, “I’m sorry we couldn’t be here for your birthday Eggsy but we do have some presents waiting for ye at home, did ye have a good time with nan and grandad?”

Eggsy nodded and gladly accepted the kiss to his cheek from Merlin before Harry very nearly ripped the boy from his arms and smothered him in kisses whilst squeezing him in a tight hug, “dada you gonna hurt my ‘tickin!” Eggsy protested through giggles.

“Yes Harry you’re going to hurt him, do release the boy and his chicken before you choke them both” Harry’s mother scolded him playfully

“There’s no hope of him putting the lad down anytime soon Pam, he was convinced that Eggsy had forgotten all about us and wouldn’t want to come home” Merlin said as he gave Pamela a kiss on the cheek in greeting, “oh he would” the woman laughed with a roll of her eyes, “come inside then, Mr Pickle will be wanting to see you both too”

\--------

The day after Eggsy turned four was supposed his first day of nursery, he was due to start primary school soon but both Merlin and Harry had agreed with the school when they had suggested that he should wait another year. Generally children started primary school the September after their fourth birthday but he was born a tad too late to start then so instead he’d start next year after his fifth birthday. 

If they were honest, they’d forgotten nursery was a thing. Merlin blamed it on Kingsman on taking over their lives as well as Harry refusing to accept that Eggsy was growing up. Seeing Eggsy’s personality grow as he grew was quite interesting to say the least, he was a very inquisitive child and never seemed to stop asking questions about anything and everything. His seemingly endless amount of energy was something they sometimes struggled to get control of but Percival had come up with a solution for them in the end. Eggsy was signed up to ‘tumbling for tots’ when he was 3 and a half and loved every moment of it so he was still attending weekly classes and had made a few friends along the way. One of those friends included a young boy from his old estate called Jamal, the boy’s uncle was one of the gym instructors and he often brought his nephew along with him even though the boy didn’t really join in with the class. He and Eggsy became fast friends and now spent most of the class together.

That being said, Eggsy didn’t go the same nursery as all his new friends and it was clear that he was a bit shyer than they’d originally thought as they walked him to the school near their house, in fact halfway through the 15-minute walk to Queensberry Nursey he dug his feet into the pavement and refused to walk any further. They tried asking him what was wrong but received silence in return and they were running out of time to waste if they wanted to be at the nursey on time for his first day.

“Right. Okay, if you’re not going to walk then I’ll just have to carry you” Merlin said with frustration slipping into his voice; he bent down to pick the boy up but Eggsy had other ideas as he slipped under Merlin’s arms and started to run as fast as he could in the other direction towards Stanhope Gardens.

“Eggsy!” Both men called out in slight shock and took off after him. As much as they were both trained spies, a four-year-old seemed to be their match as they struggled to catch up to him before the boy disappeared through a row of bushes which unfortunately were surrounding a large lake. Both Harry and Merlin knew as soon as they saw Eggsy make a bee line for the thick mass of shrubbery that they were in trouble. They heard the startled shriek then the splash of water as Eggsy fell into the lake.

“Fucking hell! Eggsy!” Merlin shouted when they both passed through the bush but stopped just before they could fall in.

“Merlin I don’t see him, where is he!?” Harry said frantically looking over the lake but not catching any sight of their son, “Take this” Merlin said and thrust his jumper and glasses into Harry’s trembling hands before diving into the murky water.

Harry swore under his breath as he watched his partner disappear under the surface meanwhile Merlin was desperately trying to get his eyes open enough under the water to be able to look for Eggsy. He came back up after a few moments to take another deep breath in before sinking back under.

He finally caught sight of Eggsy after a few more torturous seconds, the boy having managed to snag his jumper on a branch that had fallen in the water some time ago and was frantically pulling on his jumper but not being able to free himself. Merlin wrapped an arm around Eggsy’s middle under his jumper and with the other hand tore the fabric off of the branch. They both started coughing as Merlin got them back up to the surface, Eggsy more so as he had spent more time under the water than Merlin. 

“Oh thank christ! Merlin pass him here so you can get out” Harry crouched down and lifted the shivering boy into his arms to let Merlin drag himself out the water and onto the grass. Harry sat down and held Eggsy close to his chest but let him lean over the side of his leg as the boy started coughing again, bringing up some water that he had swallowed.

“You’re okay my boy, get out as much as you can” Harry tried to soothe him as he rubbed his back

“He’s not all fucking right Harry, what the fuck just happened? Why on earth did he bolt like that!” Merlin hissed out once he’d got his breath back but put his glasses back on to call for medical to come pick them up before Harry could answer him. Eggsy, who had started crying as he threw up more water, sobbed louder at the audible anger in Merlin’s voice. 

“M’sorry” The boy croaked out between harsh pants and hiccupping sobs, “m’sorry daddy” he cried out even as Harry hushed him and held him close to his chest once he’d stopped bringing up any fluid. Harry and Merlin both looked at each other in surprise at Eggsy calling Merlin something other than the ‘dada’ title he insisted on calling them both. Merlin sighed and took Eggsy from Harry’s lap into his own after medical confirmed they were on their way to them. 

“I’m sorry laddie, you gave us quite a fright but I shouldn’t have shouted at ye. Are ye hurting anywhere other than yer stomach? Look at me Eggsy” He held Eggsy’s cheeks in both hands and raised his face to look into his watery eyes, “my-my chest hurts a little” he said quietly then lent forward into Merlin’s chest.

“Aye, I can imagine it does. Ye held yer breath for an awfully long-time son” Merlin said with a kiss to Eggsy’s damp head.

“I just hope he doesn’t have any water in his lungs” Harry said with a frown as he wrapped Merlin’s jumper around Eggsy and his suit jacket around Merlin’s shoulder. He gave each of them a kiss on the head too before sitting back down again, “thank you for thinking so quick on your feet there Hamish. I don’t what I would’ve done without you, I panicked before I thought of a way to help him”

“Ye can’t think like that Harry, ye’d have done the same thing soon enough and ye know it” Merlin shook his head softly then looked up as Mark and Anne from the medical department came through the bushes.

Once they’d assessed Eggsy’s initial condition and deemed him fit to travel to Kingsman HQ for a proper check up rather than rushing to the nearest hospital, they all gathered into the back of the medical van just as Harry had a thought.

“Shit I need to call the nursey!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, la cicatrice des sourcils, est arrivée! (The eyebrow scar has arrived)
> 
> As well as the discovery of Eggsy's talent for being able to hold his breath for a long time. In a scary way of discovering for Harry and Merlin.
> 
> If anyones wants to see the chicken toy, here's the link: https://www.fenwick.co.uk/kids/toys/teddy-bears-and-soft-toys/bashful-medium-chicken/2530013872366.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4cWQvISI7QIV1ZrVCh0RRgG9EAQYBiABEgJVi_D_BwE
> 
> Honestly, I kind of want it for myself.


	5. Kay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Please read the note at beginning before reading this chapter*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mention of a child being struck in this one, if that's not something you feel comfortable with I'd recommend skipping this whole chapter. It won't be necessary to read this in terms of plot. It's not graphically described but it's spoken about throughout the whole chapter.

“Merlin please, calm yourself down before you do something you will regret” Chester chastised him from where he was sat at the head of the table, “I’m sure Kay meant nothing by it, you know his temper is short at the best of times”

Merlin’s hands were shaking he was so mad, he wouldn’t have been surprised if steam was coming out of his ears, “Arthur, that man hit my son and you’re asking me to calm down?”

Chester sniffed and looked at Merlin with boredom, “I’m only saying that you have to be reasonable about this, that boy might’ve—”

“There’s camera evidence Arthur. _That boy_ didn’t do anything aside from ask where my office was as he’d forgotten the way. Kay lashed out like he’d scratched his new car then sent Eggsy off with a bruised cheek for not doing a damn thing!” Merlin hissed out through gritted teeth as he stood up from where he was sat next to the old bastard he worked for.

“Might I remind you who you are talking to and ask you not to cut me off again or _you_ will be the one faces consequences, do I make myself clear, Merlin?” The scowl on Chester’s face did nothing but anger Merlin more but he knew retaliating in any way would only cause more problems that it’d be worth, “Yes, Arthur.” Merlin managed to respond as civically as he could. “All I ask is that he be punished in some way, he shouldn’t be able to get away with abusing a child when the whole point of being a Kingsman agent is to protect the innocent. A child is the most innocent being of all”

Chester scoffed and rolled his eyes, “I’d hardly call it abuse Merlin but I’ll have a word with Kay when I get the chance. You are dismissed”. That meant Chester was most likely going to do nothing about the situation and he and Harry would have sort it out themselves. “Oh and Merlin?” Chester called out as he was leaving the room, “Aye, Arthur?”

“I’ll thank both you and Galahad not to mention this little incident to Kay again now shall I? And perhaps if you’re going to insist on bringing that child into work during half terms, lock your office door in future”

Merlin made sure to close the door a little harder than what would be deemed appropriate when he left.

\-----

Harry, as expected, was just about ready to shoot both Arthur and Kay in the head when Merlin told him the outcome of their chat as they made their way home that evening.

“Just because that wrinkly sack of shit doesn’t give a toss about his own children doesn’t mean we have to stand around and let things like this happen to our own child. Playing it down like it was nothing, who does he think he is?” Harry ranted when they finally got through the door of their home.

“Our boss” Merlin gently reminded him as he closed the door and shifted Eggsy around in his arms to put him on the other hip so he could shrug his jacket off and hang it up, “don’t swear in front of Eggsy and as much as I’d love to see them both 6 foot under, Chester has a lot more power than the both of us and unfortunately Kay is one of the most experienced knights Kingsman has”

“Exactly! Kay’s too old to be an agent anymore, he should’ve been dropped when he turned 60 or when he decided he hated the world and everything in it after he blew up half a small Icelandic village last year” Harry grumbled and took Eggsy into his own arms then made his way into the kitchen with Merlin close behind, “thank god there were cameras in that break room otherwise he probably would’ve tried to deny he dared laid a hand on Eggsy”. He sat the boy in question on top of the kitchen counter and gently lifted his head up to get a proper look at the dark bruise beginning to form over the left side of his face, Eggsy had been uncharacteristically quiet since his encounter with the senior agent. He was six now and with the Christmas half term currently keeping his primary school closed for two weeks, the boy had been coming to work with them for a few days before he was due back for the new term in January.

“Christ he really went for it my dear” Harry frowned and gave Eggsy a gentle kiss on the forehead before rummaging through the first aid kit they kept under the sink for the arnica cream, “I’m just thankful he wasn’t wearing his usual rings, he could’ve taken his eye out. Do we have any liquid paracetamol in there?” Merlin asked him, “no, he’s never hurt himself bad enough for it to be a necessary purchase before” Harry responded after a few moments of searching.

“I’ll go to the chemist round the corner, it’s only 6 they’ll be open still. Eggsy, what do ye want for dinner wee lad?”

Eggsy shrugged and looked down at his hands with a sad expression on his face, “not hungry” he mumbled after a few more seconds.

“I’ll nae be seeing ye go to bed with no dinner Eggsy, what about some noodles and rice from the Chinese ye like? If memory serves chicken fried rice is yer favourite, aye?” Merlin tried again with a harmless poke to Eggsy’s tummy and got a little smile for his troubles, “okay daddy” Eggsy said and looked up finally, Merlin smiled and also gave him a kiss on the forehead, “good boy, I’ll be back shortly. I know yer order Harry so I’ll get ye that”. The other man nodded and accepted the kiss Merlin gave him before he left then started to rub the cream into Eggsy’s cheek, getting a little whine of pain from him.

“I know it hurts it touch my love but this’ll help you in the end. I’m so sorry this happened Eggsy, your daddy and I would never strike you in any way and we deeply regret not paying enough attention to your whereabouts today. I think we forgot how big the place must be to someone as small as you” Harry sighed again and quickly finished up rubbing the cream in, “not your fault dada” Eggsy said with his big green eyes staring up at him, “it’s not yours either Eggsy, you did nothing wrong by asking Kay a question. He had no right to touch you”. Harry gathered Eggsy back into his arms and took him upstairs for his nightly bath whilst they waited for Merlin to get back. He made sure the bubbles were in danger of overtaking the entire bathroom and was careful to avoid getting any water on his face when he rinsed the shampoo from his hair so the cream wouldn’t wash off.

“Dada?” Eggsy suddenly spoke when Harry was running conditioner through his golden locks.

“Hmm?” He hummed and continued to massage the boys head in the way that made him relaxed enough to nearly fall asleep in the tub.

“Why dun I have a mum?”

Harry froze for a moment before setting about rinsing the conditioner out, “well, that’s a little complicated my dear, I think perhaps we should discuss that at a time when you’re not so emotionally wrung out”

“But everyone else at my school has a mum but me, I have two daddies” Eggsy said once he’d finished getting his hair rinsed.

“Yes, you do. Two daddies who love you just as much as all the other children with mum’s are loved by their parent or parents”. Harry didn’t know how to tell Eggsy that their home life was ultimately not the same as most of his peers, especially considering it still wasn’t legal for both Merlin and Harry to be deemed his legal guardian.

Eggsy turned around in the bath to look at Harry with an unreadable expression on his face, “does that mean ‘am spe-shull? Cus I have two daddies that love me not jus’ one?”

Harry couldn’t help but smile and ruffle Eggsy’s damp hair affectionately, “you are very special indeed, shall we get you dried and dressed in your pyjama’s ready for when daddy gets home?”. Eggsy nodded with a smile that held a little wince due to the tenderness of his cheek and held his arms up so he could be lifted out the bath into a fluffy towel as Harry pulled the plug.

“I’m home!” Merlin called from downstairs.

“Perfect timing” Harry said as he came down the stairs carrying Eggsy still bundled up in his towel. Merlin raised a brow as they passed him in the dining room, “we’re getting pyjamas fresh from the dryer Merlin don’t look so offended”

“I was just wondering why you were carrying our son around whilst he was doing his best impression of a cloud”

Harry laughed and came back out the utility room with freshly warmed pyjama’s over one of his shoulders, “the new towels are quite plush I do have to agree with you there”. All of them startled when a high pitched yap came from the corner of kitchen where Mr. Pickle was standing up on his hind legs with his front paws of the front of his crate, “have ye even let the dog out yet Harry?” Merlin asked, “Oh bugger – no I forgot. Here, you dress Eggsy I’ll let him out now quickly” Harry said and passed Eggsy and his pj’s over to Merlin before letting Mr. Pickle out of his crate so he could go out to the garden.

“Forgot about his own dog, can ye believe it Eggsy?” Merlin playfully scoffed and shook his head making Eggsy giggle, “let’s go to the living room to get ye dressed then”

Once everyone was sorted and dinner was eaten, Merlin put Eggsy to bed after giving him a little of the medicine then joined Harry in their bedroom to get ready for bed himself. “Ye know, we’re quite lucky he doesn’t go back to school for another week. I can’t imagine what the teachers would’ve thought” Merlin sighed and started getting changed, “Kay’s quite lucky Arthur ordered us not to deal with him ourselves” Harry grumbled and sat on the bed to wait for Merlin to get changed so they could continue watching telly downstairs for a little while longer. Merlin hummed his agreement but turned to face Harry with a slightly tense expression on his face, “I don’t understand what made him react like that Harry, Eggsy’s never been a nuisance when he’s been at HQ. He rarely makes a fuss about anything and has always been polite. I’ve always worried about what things he would be in danger of having us as his parents but I never thought one of our own agents would cause him any harm”

Harry nodded his head but got up to pull Merlin into a hug, “all I know is that him being with us is much safer than he what would have been with his mother had she kept him and still got involved with the people she did. We’ll always do our best to keep him safe”

“Aye, we’ll keep him safe” Merlin pulled away from the embrace to kiss Harry softly on the lips, “but Kay’s getting no help from me if one of his missions goes tits up”

“I should hope not” 


	6. Smart cookie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy is, obviously, a genius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quite a short, admittedly not that interesting, chapter but I wanted to update this one and Eggsy doesn't get enough credit for being a smarty pants.
> 
> If anyone has any suggestions for what they want to see from this au please do comment or let me know on Tumblr, I don't really know how to keep it interesting whilst Eggsy is still fairly young haha.

“Harry!” Merlin yelled as he finally got the front door open with Eggsy still bouncing around by his legs and nearly tripping him up _again_ as he chatted away, “and then when Sam got the -”

“Yes Eggsy hold on just give me one – Harry!” Merlin yelled again whilst trying to get the boy and the dog through the door without one of them falling over themselves.

“Yes dear?” Harry called from their office upstairs where was working on his latest mission report

“Get down here now ye little -” Merlin began but was cut off by their over excited child, “DADA! PICKLES CAME TO GET ME FROM SCHOOL!”

“Christ Eggsy use your inside voice please, no shouting” Merlin groaned with a wince and rubbed over his now ringing ears thanks to Eggsy squawking about Mr. Pickles, said dog having run off to the kitchen as soon as his lead was unclipped after being startled by the sudden loud noise.

“Shouting loud enough to make one be heard from down the street is rather ungentlemanly like, my dear boy” Harry said as he strolled down the stairs.

“Sorry dada, but he did! He came wif’ daddy to get me” Eggsy smiled and raised his arms to be lifted up by Harry once he’d reached the two of them in the hallway.

"I know, I suggested that he go along to pick you up from school. Have you had a good day?” Harry smiled and planted a kiss to Eggsy’s rosy cheek.

“I have a bone to pick with ye Harry Hart” Merlin glared at him whilst pointing a finger at him, cutting in before Eggsy was able to reply. “His teacher mentioned that after lunch Eggsy’s energy levels seemed to skyrocket and he’s barely kept still all afternoon, do ye by any chance know the reason for that? Ye were the one to pack his lunch today after all were ye not?”

“I only gave him a few biscuits Merlin, I hardly packed him a thermos of coffee with a shot of redbull thrown in” Harry rolled his eyes and carried Eggsy into the kitchen, “just because ye have an insufferable sweet tooth doesn’t mean ye have to pass it on to Eggsy, he has enough energy as it is without the added sugar rush” Merlin complained as he followed the two of them.

“Can hear you” Eggsy grumbled with a little pout on his face from where he had been sat on a chair as the breakfast bar.

Merlin turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, “don’t ye start getting cheeky with me young man. Ye have homework to be doing considering ye couldn’t concentrate enough to do the work in class today” Merlin took Eggsy’s backpack from his own shoulders and got out the work to set it in front of him with a pencil, “here, I expect it all to be done by dinner and if it’s not ye’ll be doing it after instead of play time”. The 6-year-old huffed but soon started doing his maths work.

After a few moments Merlin turned back to face his husband once he was satisfied that Eggsy was doing his work properly and glared at him again when he saw the amused smirk on his face, “finish washing the vegetables you” Merlin spoke then went to leave the kitchen but stopped when Eggsy piped up again.

“Done” he announced and looked up at Merlin who eyed him suspiciously, “lad, 5 minutes hasn’t even gone by and you’re telling me you’re finished?”. Eggsy blinked at him, “yes”.

Merlin took the piece of paper being offered to him and looked over it, “well I’ll be damned” he murmured and thrust the paper at Harry, “Harry our boy’s a genius”.

“What’s that?” Eggsy asked as he doodled on his maths book, not bothering to look up at his parents who were both in slight shock at Eggsy having completed the work so quickly and with no mistakes.

“Um, darling, have you done this type of work before?” Harry asked him once he’d skimmed over the sheet that had some pretty tricky problems on considering he was only six. Eggsy continued to doodle but shook his head, “the stuff we do in class is too easy, I do the year 2 and 3 stuff but that’s year 4”

“Eggsy’s in year 1 Harry” Merlin said bluntly. Harry rolled his eyes and scoffed at his husband “I do know that Hamish”

Eggsy finally looked up when the room fell silent, “did I do something wrong?” he asked and looked between Harry and Merlin with wide eyes.

“No, no darling. In fact you’ve done something rather good, are you this far ahead in all your lessons?” Harry asked him with a smile, Eggsy nodded at him and started to fidget in his seat, “can I go play now?”. Merlin nodded but then caught the boy when he jumped down, “hey!”

“I changed my mind; you’re going for a bath whilst yer father makes dinner” he said as he swung Eggsy up to hold him under his back and his knees, “but-”

“no buts, up we go”

“urghh!” Eggsy groaned then proceeded to go limp in Merlin’s arms as he was carried up the stairs with Harry’s laugh being echoed through the house.


	7. Merry Christmas!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some festive fun!

“I dinnae understand why we have to get a real one each year Harry, the fake ones look just as good and they last for ages” Merlin grumbled as they walked around looking at various Christmas trees with Harry trying to find the perfect one. Even Eggsy, who adored everything about Christmas, was starting to look a bit over it all.

“Because it’s nice, Hamish. We get to have a tree that’s unique every year” Harry huffed and stopped to poke around a rather large one.

“Da, can we go soon? My feet are hurting” Eggsy complained up at him as Harry spoke to the salesman.

“Aye lad, mine too. We’ll be going soon by the looks of things though”. They truly had been walking for what felt like ages, Merlin glanced at the tree that Harry had _finally_ chosen and his eyes nearly fell out his head, “Harry!” he hissed out at his partner, “what in the hell are ye doing? That’s far too big!”

“Nonsense dear, it’s perfect” Harry grinned gleefully and paid the man once the tree was cut down and covered in the netting, “it’s going to delivered to us later this afternoon. Now then, we’ll need some more ornaments so off we go”. Merlin and Eggsy groaned as one.

\-----

Harry was just about going into a panic induced cardiac arrest watching Eggsy balance on Merlin’s shoulders to try and place the star on top of the tree in their living room. Eggsy could barely reach the top even when he was standing on his tip toes on Merlin’s shoulders, but he was a bit short for a 10-year-old after all. Harry secretly found it quite adorable how little he was but he never voiced that opinion out loud. They’d learnt the hard way not to point out his height, it was a slightly sensitive subject for the growing boy. James had made a joke about how it was obvious that Eggsy was adopted just by how he was growing and when they’d all chuckled about it, Eggsy promptly kicked them all in the shin in quick succession and ran up to his room. Later, when they’d all stopped cursing in pain, Eggsy was punished with no dessert that night and no gymnastics for a week before he told them that the boys in his class made fun of how short he was compared to them all. Harry had reassured him that he would have a growth spurt during puberty and that if the teasing were to become any worse than child play he would have a word with his teacher.

But now, as he watched Eggsy sway a bit and Merlin grip his little ankles tighter, he’d never wished for the boy to be a bit taller in his all his life.

“Christ perhaps I should just get a chair to stand on and I’ll do it”

“No dad I can do it!” Eggsy laughed as he managed to grip the top of the tree in one hand and ram the star on with the other.

“I told ye it was too fecking tall Harry” Merlin said once Harry had yanked Eggsy down after the star was placed and held him tightly in his arms, “next year we’re buying a fake one of a moderate size and that’s final”

Harry raised one brow and smirked at his partner, “trying to order me around are we darling?”

“I’ll show ye an order Harry Hart” Merlin glared at him but the darkness of his eyes spoke his true meaning, “ye just wait till later”

“What’s later? Are we going somewhere? Is Roxy coming here?” Eggsy asked and squirmed in Harry’s arms to be put down. Harry did so and cleared his throat as Merlin did the same, “no, no, dear. Nothing’s happening don’t fret” Harry said with a flush colouring his cheeks, “but Da said –”

“I said nothing of importance. Come on, we have a lights and garland to put up” Merlin smoothly interjected and Eggsy quickly forgot about his questions and ran off to the hallway to gather up the rest of the decorations, Harry slapped Merlin on the arm once the boy was out of sight, “don’t say things like that around him Hamish!”. Merlin just laughed and slapped Harry on the arse and gave one cheek a good squeeze, “still, I meant what I said, _darling_ ” the man practically purred into his ear then left Harry open mouthed by the tree to go help Eggsy.

Hours later, once the tree was fully decorated, the garland wrapped around the bannister and all the lights strung up outside, the three were sat together on the sofa watching the telly after having a well-deserved takeaway for dinner. Eggsy was spread out across both of their laps, his head in Merlin’s lap and his legs on Harry’s, apparently having eaten too much earlier and needed to lie down immediately otherwise he was going to ‘pass out from a food coma’. Harry, being the softy he was when it came to their boy, gladly let Eggsy lounge about as they tidied the kitchen but Merlin was pretty certain it was just Eggsy’s way of getting out of doing the washing up like he was supposed to that night.

“Athair?” Eggsy whispered out into the comfortable silence, aside from the television, in the room as Harry had fallen asleep not long before. Merlin had been trying to get Eggsy to pick up on calling him ‘athair’ ever since he was about 7 years old, as much as the boy didn’t seem to pick up any of Merlin’s accent and strayed more towards speaking like Harry (much to the other man’s enjoyment), Merlin still wanted to teach Eggsy some Scottish Gaelic. He called Merlin athair, Gaelic for dad, on and off and could have a fairly well put together conversation with him in Gaelic which Merlin was very pleased with. They often irritated Harry by speaking in the language to one another, even if most of what Eggsy was saying was just random phrases. Harry didn’t like being left out of the conversation and it amused Merlin to know end.

“Aye, my lad?” Merlin answered and brushed the fringe out of Eggsy’s eyes, “will you and dad both be home for Christmas this year?” Eggsy stared up at him with wide, sparkling eyes, a look of hope on his sweet little face. For the past three Christmases either he or Harry hadn’t been home to celebrate. Harry was away in Bulgaria the first time and was there until the new year, the next year Merlin was stuck in HQ until the early hours of boxing day and then last year both of them were demanded to go to Austria by Chester for something that didn’t even require their presence in the end. Eggsy had spent that Christmas up in Scotland with Merlin’s family and as much as he had enjoyed spending time with his aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents, he had missed Harry and Merlin dearly.

“Of course we will be, I’ve made sure of it. Uncle James and Percy are going to be coming too with Roxy” Merlin smiled at the smile that broke out across Eggsy’s face, dimpling his cheeks.

“Are they bringing Jojo and Delilah too? I think it would make dad happy if they did”

Jojo was James’ dalmatian that he had during his trials and Delilah was Percival’s rottweiler, James had wanted to keep the dashund that Lee had picked out in honour of his fallen friend but the little dog didn’t get along with his own. A member of the IT department gladly adopted the puppy instead. Mr Pickles had sadly passed away earlier on in the year from pancreatitis, Harry was absolutely devasted and he and Eggsy cried together when he had to be put down at the vets. Merlin had been rightly upset over the loss of the little terrier but seeing his family crying as they said goodbyes had truly broken his heart. The only time he had ever seen Harry cry was the night they brought Eggsy home when he was a baby after Lee had died. It had been a difficult time for them both but Harry had taken it harder.

What Merlin, even Eggsy, weren’t so keen on was the fact Harry had Mr Pickles taxidermized and mounted in the downstairs toilet with his butterflies. Eggsy had actually screamed when he walked in and saw him laying there for the first time, giving them both a fright thinking that he had been hurt somehow. The boy had refused to go into the room for a solid month after that.

Merlin smiled at the memory and pulled Eggsy up to sit in his lap for a proper cuddle, being careful not to disturb Harry who was still fast asleep. “Aye, I think they will do. If you’re a really good boy Santa might come and visit too” Merlin whispered into his ear.

“What do you want Santa to bring you daddy?” Eggsy yawned then snuggled into Merlin’s arms, he rarely called he and Harry dada or daddy anymore, only when he was overtired or upset. Merlin kissed the top of his head and sighed, “I don’t need anything, I’ve got ye and yer Da. That’s more than I could ever ask for”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!! 
> 
> It's 11pm on xmas eve in the UK right now so not quite xmas day but I hope everyone has a very merry christmas this year despite everything going on in the world. If you don't celebrate christmas or aren't doing so this year, I hope you have a great day and have a nice time doing whatever it is that you're doing!
> 
> Much love <3


	8. A mission gone bad

Harry gets captured for the first time when Eggsy’s fourteen…and away in France for a gymnastics school trip/competition which in a way was a blessing in disguise seeing as Merlin spends 72 hours wide awake tracking and trying to locate his lost agent. He only sleeps when Percival and Lancelot have got the man safely on to the jet where their medics check him over and keep him stable, Harry had been unconscious when they’d found him gagged and bound to a metal chair whilst losing blood at an alarming rate. 

Once they’d landed back at HQ the doctors whisked him away and didn’t let Merlin see his partner until 20 hours later when they’d finished surgery on his left wrist and shoulder. The worst of his injuries had been a deep gash to the side of his temple that, since the man had yet to wake up, they were unsure if it had caused any serious damage. The dislocated shoulder and broken wrist were easy enough to repair, the 2 fractured ribs and bruising were going to take a fair amount of healing. Merlin was quite relieved that stitching up the head wound didn’t require the shaving of Harry’s hair; he didn’t even want to think of how much bitching that would’ve caused. But more importantly he was thanking every god there was that the love of his life was home and alive, hurt, but alive. 

Merlin was so preoccupied with worrying about Harry that he almost forgot to pick Eggsy up from his school the night his class returned from France two days later. He’d only actually remembered when the teacher rang him to confirm that they were half an hour away from arriving back Eggsy’s secondary school. Harry used to be the one that was contacted by the school but after the adoption and children act was passed in 2002, allowing same sex couples to adopt in the UK, Merlin was made Eggsy’s legal guardian alongside Harry and they requested that the school contact him first as he was available more than Harry usually was.

Needless to say he let out some rather colourful language that got a gasp out of the nurse when he hung up the phone and shot up off the chair he had been dozing in waiting for Harry to show any signs of waking up. He apologised then rushed out an explanation that he needed to pick up his son then nearly ran out the room.

He’d only just managed to get to the school in time, opting to take a Kingsman taxi rather than use the tube like he normally did, he didn’t like to expose too much of the ‘techier’ side of Kingsman to Eggsy, including their self-driven taxi’s. As pleased as the boy was to see him again after a week and a half away, it seemed the second Merlin picked him and squeezed him tightly in his arms, the boy feel asleep. Merlin grabbed the handle of Eggsy’s suitcase and thanked the teacher before hastily making his retreat back to taxi and getting in with Eggsy still fast asleep in his arms. 

It was only then, in the calmness of the car with his son sleeping soundly did Merlin let go of all the emotion he had been holding up for what felt like months. He lent his head back against the headrest and let a few tears fall silently.

Instead of taking Eggsy home like he knew he should’ve, Merlin took them both back to HQ where he placed him in the middle of the large king bed of his and Harry’s personal suite. He shushed Eggsy when he opened his eyes and mumbled incoherently for a brief moment before promptly falling back to sleep. Merlin left the room as quietly as possible and nearly stopped breathing when he walked into Harry’s medical bay so see his eyes open and staring straight at him.

“Hello there, sleeping beauty” Merlin whispered to him with a wobbling smile after he entered the room fully and shut the door behind him. He walked over to sit on the edge of Harry’s bed, “what day is it, if you wouldn’t mind” Harry asked him with half lidded eyes, leaning into the palm cupping his cheek.

“Friday the 5th November 2004 and it’s around 9pm” Merlin replied, Harry had his eyes closed for all of 5 seconds before they snapped open again, “fucking hell Merlin!” 

Merlin startled at the volume of Harry’s voice but didn’t get to say anything before Harry continued talking, “Eggsy will be back from France, I need to –”

“He’s fast asleep in our suite Harry calm down” Merlin laughed slightly before sighing heavily, “ye scared the shite out of me ye know”

“My apologies, I don’t really remember what happened I do have to say. Might you bring our son here please, I have rather missed him. You too of course but –”

“I know Harry, I know. The doctor should probably come see you first and I’ll bring him after”.

Once Harry had been checked over and questioned by the doctor to make sure he had no life-threatening injuries, Merlin left to go wake up Eggsy. He opened the door to the suite to see Eggsy in the exact same position as he’d left him, star fished out in the middle of the bed. Merlin smiled at the sight then walked over to run his fingers through the boys hair, “Eggsy?” he said and shook him by the shoulder gently, “wake up lad”. Eggsy’s eyes opened slowly and he blinked up at Merlin with a pout on his lips, clearly not happy about being woken up, “athair?” the boy grumbled out making Merlin smile, “lad, yer da had some trouble on his last trip and is in medical. He’s doing fine but he’d like to see ye if that’s okay with ye”

Eggsy looked instantly more awake and sat up sharply, “dad’s hurt?” His huge green eyes stared at him with so much concern that Merlin had to pull him into a firm hug just to keep himself from tearing up again, “there was some complications when he was away but he’s doing a lot better now he’s home. He’s had some surgery on his wrist and shoulder but the doctors are happy with how he’s healing, when go see him ye must be careful if ye want to cuddle him okay? His ribs are quite sore too lad” Merlin explained when he pulled back to cup Eggsy’s cheeks to speak directly to him. Eggsy couldn’t seem to do much more than nod but he seemed to understand the situation well enough and they both got up to leave.

Merlin walked with him hand in hand to Harry’s room, when they got there he opened the door and let Eggsy go in first but kept a firm grip on his hand so he didn’t move too quickly in case Harry had fallen asleep. Unsurprisingly he hadn’t and the other man smiled once he saw Eggsy poke his head round the door.

“Hello, my boy” Harry said once Eggsy looked up at him, “gentleman don’t chew on their fingers my dear, I thought we got you out of that habit a few years ago” Harry scolded with no heat behind his words.

“M’sorry” Eggsy mumbled but kept on gnawing on his fingertips, “da said you were hurt really really badly and I can’t hug you”. Eggsy, being as soft hearted as he was, looked close to tears by the time he’d finished speaking making Harry glare at Merlin. Merlin pulled a face but shook his head, “nay Eggsy, I said ye must be careful, not that ye can’t”. Merlin said and picked him up to gently set him down next to Harry’s middle on the spacious bed, being sure to put him on Harry’s less injured side. Eggsy’s eyes widened when he saw the stitches on Harry’s forehead and Harry soon picked up on what he was staring at, “just a scratch my dear nothing to worry about. Now, how did your trip go” Harry asked him and squeezed the boys knee as he was sat crossed legged and a small smiled finally appeared on Eggsy’s face, “I won all my competitions, oh and a man from the olympics said he wanted to talk to you about joining their youth team” 

Both of them stared at him in silence making Eggsy look back and forth between them, “what?” Eggsy questioned after a few more seconds.

“Lad ye are incredible my god why didn’t ye say anything before?!” Merlin eventually said and kissed Eggsy on the cheek, “was tired” the boy shrugged but smiled wider. 

“I’m so proud of you Eggsy, both of us. We’re so proud to be able to call you our son” Harry grinned and reached out with his good arm to encourage Eggsy into laying down next to him so he could squeeze him tightly and plant a kiss to his forehead.


	9. Olympics

After a few years of intense training, blood, sweat and indeed tears, Eggsy attends the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the age of 18, qualifying for the men’s rings and pommel horse events. Merlin and Harry insist on flying out to watch him, Harry even tells Chester King to piss off when he asks him to stay behind instead to attend a gala that Gawain was already assigned to and did _not_ require back up. He earnt himself a 1-week suspension of straight desk duty for swearing at the boss but then gained an additional week for saying he couldn’t give a flying fuck straight to the old bastards face.

Eggsy almost doesn’t compete, he makes a frantic phone call 10 minutes before he’s due to do his first event where he states that he simply can’t go out there and he doesn’t know what he was thinking when he agreed with his coach that he could attend because its “ _the Olympics for fucks sake dad!”_. Harry frets, of course, and tells him he can drop out if he really doesn’t want to do it but Merlin tells him to suck it up and go out there before hanging up the phone. He merely shrugs when Harry stares at him with his mouth dropped open and it would have been comical if the slap on the back of his head from his partner didn’t give him a headache for a solid fifteen minutes.

Merlin and Harry watched with poorly contained glee as Eggsy nails his performance on the rings and cheered louder than anyone else in the crowd when he won the gold medal for that event and the bronze medal in the pommel horse. After the medal ceremony and his teammates were finished congratulating him, they met him in his changing room to give their own congratulations in the flesh.

“Eggsy! Congratulations my lad” Merlin exclaimed when they burst through the door to where Eggsy was sat in his uniform staring down at his medals, but the boy quickly jumped up to accept the bear hug from his parents as soon as they opened their arms to engulf him, “first British gymnast to win an individual apparatus medal in gymnastics and the first Briton to win any individual gymnastics medal since 1908! We are so proud of you my darling” Harry said whilst grinning like a Cheshire cat when they pulled away. Eggsy laughed slightly and quickly wiped the backs of his hand under his eyes, “bit mad isn’t it?”

“So proud of you son, you did a spectacular job”. Merlin squeezed his muscular shoulder then ruffled his hair, clearing his throat to rid the emotion building up inside him. “Are ye going out to celebrate with yer team mates then?”

Eggsy shook his head and looked at up at them both, “I’d rather just stay with you two to be honest. If that’s okay”

Harry kissed him on the cheek soundly, making the boy laugh and shove at him, “what a ridiculous question, of course that’s okay. How about a celebratory dinner?”. Eggsy smiled back at him, “sounds great, but do you think we could just order room service in the hotel? I’m fucking knackered”.

Harry scowled at him but it didn’t last long with the pride he was feeling, “language dear boy but yes of course. Are you ready to go or do you want to change first?” Harry took the medals from Eggsy when the boy took them off and held them out to him, “I’ll just put my tracksuit over the top of this” Eggsy said with a gesture to his current outfit of his team GB uniform. He quickly put on his hoodie and joggers, once again courtesy of the team GB Olympic committee. He almost forgets to put his trainers back on in his rush to get changed.

As they made their way through the corridors of the gymnasium, an employee of the games came running up to them whilst calling Eggsy’s name. Well his given name anyway.

“Mr Hart! Gary Hart, please, you are not to leave the building without some security. There are lots of people waiting to see you outside. Please, follow me sir’s.” The young man gestured for them all to follow him before saying something in Mandarin into his walkie talkie. Harry, speaking the language himself, couldn’t help but chuckle at what was being said.

“What’re ye laughing at Hart?” Merlin whispered to him as they hurried along trying to catch up to the young man speedily leading them through the halls. Instead of replying verbally, Harry sent a message across on the glasses to not give away that he was understanding what the employee was saying.

**_Apparently the staff have been running about like headless chickens trying to find Eggsy, he seems to have built a bit of a fan base with the people of Beijing. It appears the code name they’ve given him is ‘pretty gym boy’, that is a loose translation mind._ **

Before Merlin could respond, the employee came to a sudden halt in front of two big doors that led to the back parking area of the gymnasium, “security are waiting outside, please go straight to the cars. Many congratulations Mr Hart and thank you. I wish you good luck for any future events”. Eggsy smiled and thanked the man, shaking his hand when it was offered before the doors were flung open and the shrill of high pitch screaming made them all flinch at the sheer volume.

A mix of mandarin from the security guards surrounding them to get them moving as well as the shouts of Eggsy’s name, both ‘Eggsy’ and ‘Gary’ was all that could be heard. Harry could see Eggsy smiling and laughing happily at the crowds that were crying out for him to notice them, he waved to them a few times and the flashes from reporters cameras went off before the three of them were shoved into a large car.

“Holy shit, that was mad!” Eggsy, who was in middle of them, laughed and leaned across Merlin to look out the window, “god there’s loads of people out there athair!”

“Aye lad, you’re well liked it seems” Merlin said with a chuckle and moved the boy back to his seat so he was no longer climbing all over his lap, “put yer seat belt on the cars started lad”. Eggsy did as he was told but still strained his neck to get a look out the window. Harry looked out from his side where he was able to really see just how many people there were, he was suddenly very glad that he put the two medals Eggsy had won in the inside pockets of his suit jacket rather the outside ones. He put his hand in to pull out the two heavy medals to look at them properly.

“I do believe we should frame these, what do you say?”

“As long as they’re not next to Mr Pickle and his beady little eyes, dad. I don’t want people to scream when they go to see them” Eggsy said with a cheeky grin, the adrenaline burst from the excitement outside seeming to have made his tiredness vanish and his usual cheeky self be back in full force. Harry just rolls his eyes and hands the medals over to Merlin when he asks to see them.

After a few more moments of comfortable silence, Eggsy breaks it with a question, “What did the guy say that made you laugh?”

“Ah. He was saying that there was a rather extensive search party out for you, and that they have a code name for you apparently” Harry said with amusement radiating off of him, “what is it? Something awful?” Eggsy asks when Harry doesn’t elaborate straight away.

Harry shakes his head, “no dear, the call you what I can loosely translate as ‘pretty gym boy’. Quite the compliment I’d say”. Harry watches as a flush quickly rises on Eggsy’s face, “oh. Why pretty though?”

“I assume it’s to do with yer personality son, yer face is out of the question” Merlin joked, earning himself a punch in the arm from Eggsy but he was laughing as he responded, “shut up you’re such an arse!”

“Sorry lad sorry, of course they like yer pretty face. Just don’t punch me again, yer actually quite powerful with those” Merlin grumbled whilst rubbing his arm. Harry was watching the two men fondly when a thought occurred to him.

“You look just like your father” he said, Eggsy glanced at him with confusion clear in his features, “what? No I – oh, you mean my birth father. Do I not look like my mum then?” They only had minimal photos of Lee and Michelle considering they were still so young when they died, the photos they did have weren’t even the best quality so Eggsy didn’t have much of an idea about what his birth parents really looked like.

“Yer eyes, you got those from her” Merlin said with a firm squeeze to Eggsy’s knee, “they’d have been proud of you too Eggsy. So proud”

“I know I should be sad about them not being here but I also didn’t know them at all, so I don’t really feel much of anything you know”

“Aye. And that’s okay lad, you can feel sad and you can also not feel sad. We’d never judge you for something like that”

Eggsy looked back and forth between them, “and I love you two, you’re the best parents I could ever have asked for”

Both Harry and Merlin smiled at him, both of them returning the sentiment.

\------

“I’m starving” Eggsy complained once they’d entered the hotel room that Harry and Merlin were sharing, “can you get me anything that involves carbs, I’m gonna go shower” Eggsy said over his shoulder before going through the door that connected their rooms, the door shutting with a soft click behind him.

“Well, you heard the boy. Get ordering Mr Mycroft” Harry said and started to strip out of his suit but was stopped by Merlin wrapping his arms around his waist, “not so fast Mr Hart, I haven’t been able to kiss you all day. I’ve missed you”

“I’ve been with you all day you old fool, how could you possibly have missed me” Harry rolled his eyes but was smiling all the same, wrapping his arms around the top of Merlin’s shoulders.

“I’ve missed your touch” Merlin mumbled before leaning in for a kiss, keeping it to a sweet press of lips until Harry nipped at his bottom lip. Merlin groaned lowly in the back of his throat and slipped his tongue into Harry’s mouth when the other man parted his lips, his hands creeping down to grope his partners arse, pulling their bodies closer together.

“Also can you – eww gross!”

They pulled apart at the sound of Eggsy’s voice, “you’re supposed to be getting food not sucking each other’s faces off! I swear to god you better not continue that later on these walls are dead thin; I’m still traumatised from walking in on you two shagging when I was 16. No one wants to see their parents going at it” Eggsy said with a shudder and grimace.

“Oh shut it with yer whingeing, don’t ye forget I walked in on ye with the neighbours daughter last month young man” Merlin said once he and Harry had pulled away properly.

“I beg your pardon! You slept with the Andersons daughter?” Harry exclaimed over Eggsy’s squawk of horror, “Dad! You said –”

“And son”

“DAD!”

“oh good god, Eggsy they’re twins for christ sake!” Harry said with a shocked expression that made Merlin burst out laughing and Eggsy turn bright red.

“I was just curious! I didn’t have a threesome or anything if that’s what you’re thinking” Eggsy said but Merlin’s uncontrollable laughter was setting him off too, as well as the expression on Harry’s face.

“I don’t want to know you menace, go have your shower whilst I try to find a way to delete this conversation from my mind” Harry said with a slight chuckle of his own.

“I came in to ask for a jack and coke please”

“Yes, yes. Be gone with ye”. Merlin said with a wave of his hand. He wiped his cheeks to rid them of the tears that had fallen during his laughing fit, “I admit, I didn’t actually know he’d slept with the son too so that was new information for me as well”

“Shut up. Order something for dinner, I’m going to go cry in the shower. I did not need to hear about our son bedding the neighbours twins”

Merlin laughed until he had a coughing fit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The stuff about the British Olympian is true with the bronze gym medal, the gold medal is not true however. Britain did not win a mens gold for the gymnastics events.


	10. A mistake

“What on earth were you thinking!” Arthur hisses as Merlin and Harry enter his office the day after they get back from Beijing with Eggsy. They’d barely landed back in the UK before Chester had messaged them on the glasses saying he wanted to see them both urgently. They ignored the message for a good 12 hours before they replied, Chester King didn’t need to ruin their happiness quite so soon. 

“Excuse me? I don’t understand what ye are talking about, Arthur” Merlin asks after Harry closes the door and comes to stand next to him. Chester looked at them both with a glare, “not only did you flat out refuse to go on a mission I had specifically asked you to go on, Galahad, but both of you are now in every newspaper there is due to that boy having a few ridiculous awards for swinging himself about a bit!”

Harry felt himself near shaking with barely contained rage at the words of his good for nothing boss, “I’ll have you know –”

“I don’t want to hear it Galahad. You two are part of an international intelligence agency operating at the highest level of discretion. Your job is to remain _out_ of the public eye not in very heart of it. All we need is for one individual who has encountered either one of you in the name of Kingsman to recognise you and oh! We have an issue. They’ll see you have a weakness, one that isn’t even your actual flesh and blood, and use it to their advantage”. Chester finished his rant with a fist thumped onto the table, the sound echoing around the room and leaving an awkward silence surrounding them.

Merlin was the first one to speak up, his voice tight with supressed anger, “Arthur, with all due respect, I do not wish to carry on this conversation at this very moment because I can promise ye what I will end up saying to ye will not be what ye want to hear. I am leaving and I will not be returning to this room today”. With that Merlin turned on his heel, opened the door and left, slamming it shut.

Harry closed his eyes for a brief moment to collect himself then opened them to look Chester in the eyes.

“What, Arthur, do you expect us to do about this exactly? We had no way of knowing that Eggsy would attract such a crowd, we merely wanted to support our son with one of his greatest achievements” he said in as calm a voice as he could muster.

Chester scoffed and rolled his eyes, “son? That boy is an orphan, he has no parents as far as I’m concerned and you changing his family name to your own changes that in no way. Kingsman is no place for charity cases Galahad and this has gone on long enough”

Harry stared at the sneering man in disbelief, “I beg your pardon?”

“He is 18, an adult. He no longer requires yourself and Merlin to be his guardians and therefore he no longer needs to be associated with either of you or Kingsman” Chester looked at Harry and then back down to the paperwork in front of him.

“You are dismisses Galahad. I trust this situation will be sorted as soon as possible, if not I will be taking measures into my own hands”

“Is that a threat, sir?” Harry questioned with a tilt of his head

Chester looked back at him with a blank expression, “If the shoes fits, agent”

Harry smiled at him with a cold glint in his eyes, “you are a disgrace to everything this organisation is and stands for. You can take your petty threats and choke on them for all I care. Do what you like to me and my status as an agent but you will not threaten my son with your demented ideas. Now, if threats are how things get dealt with around here then let me make one thing clear to you”

Harry walked forwards until he was towering over the man, forcing him to lean back in his chair to look up at him, “we will be forgetting this conversation and moving on from it unless you’d like to find yourself named as a cold case because they weren’t able to find the body. You may be the boss of agent Galahad Chester King but to me, you are nothing; if I were you, I wouldn’t go starting fights with people who rather enjoy finishing them. Good day, Arthur”

\----------------------

“Daaaad!”

……

“Dad!”

….. “Oi! Harry Hart are you deaf!”

“Eggsy will ye shut it boy! I’m trying to concentrate here” Merlin shouted from where he was trying to balance on a rickety old chair in order to change the light bulb in their living room, “fecking bastard, come out already will ye” he grumbled as the old bulb refused to come out of the light fixture.

“Where the hell is dad at? I thought he was in here with you?” Eggsy questions when he appears in the doorway. Merlin looks thoroughly unimpressed when he turns to face him, “aye, he’s behind the telly, fancied a wee game of ‘let’s ignore and hide from the boy who’s louder than he should be’. Does it look like he’s in here?”

Eggsy scrunches up his face, “well you’re in a good mood, was only asking. Where is he then?”

“He’s in Oxford”

“Why?”

“For you, actually. Got ye! Right that’s done, what did ye want with him?” Merlin jumped down from chair and set about taking the old bulb to the bin and turn the electric back on.

“Wait, wait, wait. Why is he there for me?” Eggsy said whilst following him into the kitchen. Merlin threw the bulb away then looked back at him, “for university. Harry wants ye to apply there and Oxford are quite keen to have an Olympian go to their university truth to be told so I doubt ye’ll have much trouble getting in”

Eggsy blinked at him and didn’t say anything for a split second before he opened his mouth, “I never said I wanted to go to university! What the fuck dad, this ain’t fair”

“Isn’t, not ain’t, and ye can’t be a gymnast forever Eggsy. A degree will do ye good so stop being a little brat” Merlin said with a harshness to his voice that was reserved for when he was telling Eggsy off. Mainly for when he wore his shoes in the house but that was beside the point.

“You can’t tell me what to do! I’m 18 not 8” Eggsy snapped

“Oh aye? Start acting like it and I might believe it” Merlin snapped back. Eggsy narrowed his eyes at him, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

“Shut up. You ain’t even my real dad so just shut up” The boy hissed out.

Merlin drew in a sharp breath, his heart beginning to pound in his chest. They both stared at each in silence.

“Dad –” Eggsy started, looking like he’d never regretted speaking more, but was cut off by Merlin.

“Oh no, you’ve made yer self quite clear” He cleared his throat, “I’m going to HQ. I won’t be back for a few days so I’ll see ye when I get back. Harry will be back soon enough”

He walked out the kitchen and to the front door, brushing past a stunned Eggsy.

“No dad please I’m sorry, wait, I didn’t mean it I didn’t I’m –” Eggsy frantically rattled on whilst nearly tripping over his own feet to grab onto Merlin’s arm with a death grip, the door opening and Harry stepping through it cut him off from rambling even more.

Harry smiled but it soon turned into a frown when he took in the sight in front of him, Eggsy looking manic with tears welling up in his eyes, gripping Merlin like his life depended on it and Merlin flushed to the point of concern.

“Is everything alright?” Harry asked after a few seconds, Merlin simply looked away but Eggsy adjusted his grip on Merlin to be firmer and looked at Harry, “I said something awful but I-I didn’t mean it, I didn’t! I’m sorry athair please don’t leave me, please” the boy practically begged and made his way between Harry and Merlin to bury his face in Merlin’s chest, securing his arms around his waist.

“Christ almighty what did you say to make yourself this worked up” Harry said with a look of surprise. Merlin sighed heavily and wrapped his arms around Eggsy, giving him a gentle squeeze.

“We were having a bit of a heated discussion and he said I am nae his real father.” Merlin’s accent was thicker with emotion but he remained calm, even when Harry’s face turned into one of heart break.

“You are, you are my real dad I didn’t mean it. I promise” Eggsy sniffled and held on to Merlin tighter.

“Oh Eggsy” Harry sighed and stroked a gentle hand down his back but kept looking at his partner with sadness in his eyes. Merlin closed his eyes to avoid looking at the sight and nuzzled into Eggsy’s soft hair.

“I know Eggsy, it’s okay now don’t fret” Merlin mumbled into Eggsy hair, pressing a kiss there. But Eggsy shook his head and pulled back to look up at him with tear streaks shining on his cheeks and wetness sticking to his eyelashes, “I never should’ve said it, you are my dad and I l-love you and I –” he cut himself off with a hiccup and trembling bottom lip, Merlin put a hand on the back of his head to pull him into another hug, “I know my lad, we were both angry and I’m sorry too. Ye didn’t mean it son”.

Harry pressed himself against Eggsy’s back to wrap his arms around both of them, kissing Merlin on the forehead when he was able to reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh the pain

**Author's Note:**

> Hope this is something that interests people! I find it cute so this is like a guilty pleasure fic for me haha.
> 
> Thanks for reading !
> 
> Feel free to come on over to my tumblr -- CoffeeTalkBaby


End file.
